Video thumbnail

ABSTRACT

A video thumbnail for use as an icon of a digital video file and method of generating same. The video thumbnail is preferably a relatively short, low resolution, animated video thumbnail. The video thumbnail is extracted from a preferred sequence of the video file and embedded as a header of the file. The video thumbnail preferably plays automatically, and acts as a pointer to the file and the preferred point within it.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to digital video, and morespecifically, to an animated video thumbnail for use with digital videofiles and method of generating the thumbnail.

BACKGROUND

Digital video clips or files are an increasingly important form of imageinformation. They are generated by digital cameras and camcorders, theyare stored, manipulated, and viewed on personal computers and digitalappliances, and they are transmitted over the Internet. Currently thereis no good, visual, user-friendly representation for the contents of adigital video clip or file.

Digital still images have been represented by a thumbnail version of theimage file. The thumbnail is low resolution, but often is sufficient fora user to recognize the content without opening the full resolutionimage. The thumbnail is originally generated by downsampling the fullimage. It is usually stored in a header of the image file so that itdoes not have to be regenerated for each use. It can be physicallyseparated from the full-resolution image file, but remains logicallyconnected by way of a pointer or address.

To date, digital cameras have used a thumbnail of the first frame of adigital video clip to represent the clip, perhaps overlaying a graphicalicon to indicate it is video. This has the disadvantage that it isstatic, and it rarely shows the actual event for which the video clipwas taken. For example, the video clip might be of a child scoring atouchdown. The first frame of the clip may be of the huddle, which isnot a visually-obvious reminder of the event

Prior art relating to the present invention is as follows.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,999,173 discloses a “method and apparatus, in whichvideo clips (and optionally also still image and audio clips) are storedas digital data in a computer memory, selected clips are displayed inelongated tracks on a display screen, and editing operations areperformed on the clips in response to manipulation of displayed cursorsand icons to assemble and preview an edited video program.” “The systemassembles a video program from stored clips in response to arrangementof displayed clips and special effect icons in a desired sequence alongthe time line. The computer system is preferably programmed: to select anew in or out point for a clip by positioning a cursor at an edge of thedisplayed clip and dragging the edge relative to the time line, toselect a special effect transition between displayed clips bypositioning a transition icon in a special track in alignment withoverlapping portions of the clips, to select special effect parametersby manipulating an icon in a special effects track, to filter selectedvideo clips with a mosaic filter having user-selectable time-varyingfilter characteristics, and to control superimposition of an overlayclip with a main clip in response to manipulation of a level controlicon displayed in alignment with the overlay clip.” U.S. Pat. No.5,999,173 discloses that “Animated “special effect” icons, eachrepresenting a special effect, are displayed in a separate specialeffects track also oriented parallel to the time ruler. Each specialeffect icon can represent a special effect transition between two clips(such as a dissolve, fade, and wipe).”

U.S. Pat. No. 6,356,921 discloses a “Framework for progressivehierarchical and adaptive delivery rich media presentations andassociated meta data.” U.S. Pat. No. 6,356,921 discloses that a “singlefile contains all information for a complete presentation. Eachpresentation file contains both data and software for the presentation.It includes both the data and software provided to the user and thatretained by the server for the performance of the presentation. Thebasic building block for a presentation is a frame. The presentationfile can contain a file header frame and multiple media frames, and oneor more meta data frame. Of the frame types, the file header frame isthe only one whose presence is mandatory in the presentation fileformat. The file header frame identifies the subject matter and contentsof the presentation file providing information on the media types andtotal length of the file. The most degenerate yet useful version of apresentation file would have the file header frame followed by a mediaframe containing a thumbnail description. A thumbnail description mayconstitute a simple still picture or written description of the subjectmatter. Other media frames can be animated or full motion descriptionsof the subject matter. Meta data frames are frames that containnon-media specific data file level behavior and user information. Metadata frames are presented only in cases where non-fault behavior andconfiguration are desired or in cases where actions and abstractnavigational semantics are to be incorporated.”

U.S. Pat. No. 5,841,432 discloses a “A compressed data file for realtime display of multimedia applications, e.g., animation, on a networkis disclosed. The file includes general information about the animation.Also included in the file are complete segment blocks of informationrepresenting single frames in the animation. Each frame is made up ofmultiple images (layers) which are overlapped. Each image is made up ofvector objects. Display of the file is conducted through asynchronoustransfer of data so that as a frame is displayed, the next frame istransmitted and received by an end user for immediate display.”

U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,416 discloses a “pictorial user interface foraccessing information in an electronic file system provides a pictorialimage which is linked to a file directory and which identifies the filedirectory. Objects in the pictorial image are icons linked to fileobjects and an animated character is overlaid on the pictorial image.User input causes movement of the animated character relative to thepictorial image. Input from the user is preferably through a limitedinput device such as a gamepad controller, a mouse, or by using alimited number of keys on a normal keyboard. Input signals are mappedaccording to keycode identical command sets, context arguments andselection arguments. Commands that can be invoked by the user includeoperating system commands, pictorial object commands, and interfaceutility commands. Using the pictorial object commands, the user canconfigure the interface so that different pictures and icons areassociated with different directories and files. Commands are executedwith a prologue animation and an epilogue animation. The prologueanimation provides feedback as to the nature of the command beingexecuted. The epilogue animation provides feedback as to the results ofthe command. Animations may include actions of the animated character orthe behaviour of a selected icon, or both. The interface may be appliedas an overlay to virtually any operating system.”

U.S. Pat. No. 5,835,163 discloses “Apparatus for detecting a cut in avideo comprises arrangements for acquiring video images from a source,for deriving from the video images a pixel-based difference metric, forderiving from the video images a distribution-based difference metric,and for measuring video content of the video images to provideup-to-date test criteria. Arrangements are included for combining thepixel-based difference metric and the distribution-based differencemetric, taking into account the up-to-date test criteria provided so asto derive a scene change candidate signal and for filtering the scenechange candidate signal so as to generate a scene change frame list.”

U.S. Pat. No. 5,936,638 discloses “system generates and arrangesanimation sequences of articulated characters for review and selectionby a user. Motion of articulated characters is based upon inputparameters, such as torques at joints of the character. The system canbe used to select appropriate parameters to obtain desirable motion ofthe articulated characters. The system generates a set of input vectorscontaining parameters of the motion. The input parameters are thenprocessed to determine animation sequences and corresponding outputvectors. The output vectors include characteristics of the motion. Theinput vectors are selected to provide a dispersed set of output vectors.A large number of random input vectors can be generated and then culledto leave a dispersed set of output vectors. Alternatively, a set ofrandomly generated input vectors of a predetermined size are randomlyperturbed, to further disperse the output vectors. The system includesan interface for representing the output vectors and animation sequencesin a manner which is easily reviewable by a user. The output vectors aredisplayed so that positions represent distances between the outputvectors. The user can then select specific output vectors so that thecorresponding animation sequence is displayed.”

U.S. Pat. No. 5,966,122 discloses an “electronic camera displaysthumbnails corresponding to source files such as motion picture imagefiles in one window. An operator intuitively performs simple operationson the thumbnails displayed in the window and corresponding source filesby selecting, editing and rearranging the thumbnails within the windowusing drag and drop operations and a menu containing editing options.The operator can use a mouse or a touch screen to perform the drag anddrop operations and to select editing options from the menu.”

U.S. Pat. No. 5,966,131 discloses a “system for generating a set ofgraphical images based upon application of different graphical transferfunctions to data of physical structures in a scene. The application ofthe different graphical transfer functions define graphical images of asingle scene having different characteristics. A user can then reviewthe images to select a desirable image, without having to define or knowthe graphical transfer function which generates the image. The system ofthe present invention generates a dispersed set of output vectorsrepresenting characteristics of the set of images based upon a transferfunction. The system creates the dispersed set by generating a randomset of output vectors and then randomly perturbing one. The perturbedvector replaces one of the other vectors if the replacement results in amore dispersed set. The process is repeated until a thoroughly dispersedset of output vectors has been obtained. The dispersion of the set isdetermined based upon a total number of iterations or a number ofperturbations without replacement. The output vectors are created byrandomly selecting sets of parameters of the graphical transfer functionas input vectors, and generating the images based upon the inputvectors. The output vectors are similarly perturbed by randomlyperturbing at least one parameter of a randomly selected input vector,and determining the corresponding new output vector.”

U.S. Pat. No. 6,002,401 discloses a “pictorial user interface foraccessing information in an electronic file system provides a pictorialimage which is linked to a file directory and which identifies the filedirectory. Objects in the pictorial image are icons linked to fileobjects and an animated character is overlaid on the pictorial image.User input causes movement of the animated character relative to thepictorial image. Input from the user is preferably through a limitedinput device such as a gamepad controller, a mouse, or by using alimited number of keys on a normal keyboard. Input signals are mappedaccording to keycode identical command sets, context arguments andselection arguments. Commands that can be invoked by the user includeoperating system commands, pictorial object commands, and interfaceutility commands. Using the pictorial object commands, the user canconfigure the interface so that different pictures and icons areassociated with different directories and files. Commands are executedwith a prologue animation and an epilogue animation. The prologueanimation provides feedback as to the nature of the command beingexecuted. The epilogue animation provides feedback as to the results ofthe command. Animations may include actions of the animated character orthe behavior of a selected icon, or both. The interface may be appliedas an overlay to virtually any operating system.”

U.S. Pat. No. 6,278,455 discloses a “pictorial user interface foraccessing information in an electronic file system provides a pictorialimage which is linked to a file directory and which identifies the filedirectory. Objects in the pictorial image are icons linked to fileobjects and an animated character is overlaid on the pictorial image.User input causes movement of the animated character relative to thepictorial image. Input from the user is preferably through a limitedinput device such as a gamepad controller, a mouse, or by using alimited number of keys on a normal keyboard. Input signals are mappedaccording to keycode identical command sets, context arguments andselection arguments. Commands that can be invoked by the user includeoperating system commands, pictorial object commands, and interfaceutility commands. Using the pictorial object commands, the user canconfigure the interface so that different pictures and icons areassociated with different directories and files. Commands are executedwith a prologue animation and an epilogue animation. The prologueanimation provides feedback as to the nature of the command beingexecuted. The epilogue animation provides feedback as to the results ofthe command. Animations may include actions of the animated character orthe behaviour of a selected icon, or both. The interface may be appliedas an overlay to virtually any operating system.”

U.S. Pat. No. 6,181,342 discloses a “graphical user interface to desktopdocuments presents a visual display of visual summaries extracted fromstill image files, video image files, presentation slide documents, andword processing documents that include figures therein, in a computerfile system, in response to a computer user requesting a directorylisting. The user can select a visual summary to cause the computer tosearch for files/documents containing similar images. The visualsummaries can be presented in a hierarchy, with the top level of thehierarchy containing one visual summary per file/document, the nextlevel containing visual summaries of all images in each file/document,and the lowest level containing visual summaries of each individualcomponent, if any, in each image in a document. Further, for analpha-numeric document having no images, the corresponding visualsummary can be a visual representation of the appearance of a portion ofthe document, such as a portion of the first page of the document.”

U.S. Pat. No. 6,285,381 discloses a “frame of still picture data iscaptured at an instant specified by a user from video signals suppliedfrom a given video source, such as a television receiver, a videocamera, etc., and the image data is displayed. When the user specifiesan area of image to be cut out from the displayed still picture, theimage data in the specified area is cut out and recorded as a cutoutimage. Each cutout image recorded is displayed in the form of an icon.When any of the icons is selected by the user, the corresponding cutoutimage data is read and pasted in a part to be changed in the originalimage data. Thus an image can be easily created by user's choice.”

U.S. Pat. No. 6,357,042 discloses an “authoring system for interactivevideo has two or more authoring stations for providing authored metadatato be related to a main video data stream and a multiplexer for relatingauthored metadata from the authoring sources to the main video datastream. The authoring stations annotate created metadata withpresentation time stamps (PTS) from the main video stream, and themultiplexer relates the metadata to the main video stream by the PTSsignatures. In analog streams PTS may be created and integrated. In someembodiments there may be multiple and cascaded systems, and some sourcesmay be stored sources. Various methods are disclosed for monitoring andcompensating time differences among sources to ensure time coordinationin end product. In different embodiments transport of metadata to an enduser station is provided by Internet streaming, VBI insertion or byInternet downloading. User equipment is enhanced with hardware andsoftware to coordinate and present authored material with the main datastream.”

U.S. Pat. No. 6,370,543 discloses a “method and apparatus for searchingfor multimedia files in a distributed database and for displayingresults of the search based on the context and content of the multimediafiles.”

U.S. Pat. No. 6,396,500 discloses a “method and system for automaticallytranslating slides in a slide presentation file into a series ofcorresponding slide HTML pages for displaying a slide show with aviewing facility such as a browser. An animated object is generated foreach object in the HTML page that is related to an animation of theobject in the corresponding slide created for presentation by the otherfacility. A queue is generated for defining the order and time line forthe graphical display of each animated and non-animated object of eachHTML page. The browser graphically displays the contents of each HTMLpage in accord with the order and time line defined by the queue so thata graphical display of the generated slide show is presented to the userin a manner that is related to the intended presentation by the otherfacility of the originally created slide show. Divisions in the HTMLpage are created with nested DIV tags so that percentages related todefault dimensions in the HTML page may be used to define the dimensionsof a display space for objects included in the HTML page. The objectsmay include text, movies, audio clips, animations, transitions, images,and image maps associated with hyperlinks. User interface controls areprovided to select options for animating objects and transitions andautomatically fitting the objects in the page to the size of thedisplay.”

U.S. Pat. No. 6,441,927 discloses an “appliance and method are providedfor capturing and viewing images. The capturing and viewing appliance isan instrument used to capture and communicate images to other appliancesand devices with communication capabilities. The capturing and viewingappliance includes a processor for manipulating and viewing the imageson a built-in display. Program code stored in internal memory includes aviewing application program which allows the user to view stored imagesin a variety of pixel resolutions. According to another aspect of theinvention, the viewing system provides a user-friendly interface foreffective graphical communication of the functioning of the appliance orother device to the user through use of animated transitions. Throughthe use of metaphorical icons, animated transitions between exploded andunexploded images and image magnification, the present inventionpresents a novel user interface which makes the viewing system andmethod a solution to devices in need of image viewing capabilities withlimited resources. The viewing method is designed for viewing capturedimages through instrument reuse especially useful in portable hand-heldappliances or other devices which are capable of displaying images wherespace and compactness are a concern.”

U.S. patent application 20020122073 discloses “methods, apparatuses andsystems facilitating the creation, management and implementation ofimage histories associated with the use of telepresence systems. Thepresent invention extends and enhances the capabilities of currenttelepresence systems for both users and systems administrators.Embodiments of the present invention enhance a user's ability tonavigate a remote physical location by providing a visual representationof the user's session. One embodiment allows users to create visualbookmarks of a session. Other embodiments of the present inventionfacilitate monitoring and analysis of use of one or more telepresencesystems.”

U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,602 discloses a “means and method for generating anddisplaying a content based depiction of a standard icon on the displayof a computer is described. The depiction is generated upon theoccurrence of predetermined events, such as the closure of the documentor file associated with the icon, and is displayed in either a static oranimated form in place of the standard icon in response to selectionsignals from a selection device. A single content-based depiction of anicon is generated by creating a representation of the object (file ordocument) to be depicted, and translating this representation into ascaled-down replica of the representation. This representation may be inthe form of a bit-map, a full-scale image, etc. The replica is createdby partitioning the representation into a number of equal segments,measuring the percentages of different colors (black and white, grayscale, or color) within each segment, and assigning a single color valueto each display element or pixel of the replica based upon the colorpercentage measured from each corresponding segment of therepresentation. Animated depictions are created by forming a number ofdifferent replicas for each representation to be depicted and thendisplaying those replicas in a serial sequence to create an animateddepiction of the representation. Like the icons these depictions replacewhen selected, the depictions would be movable to any position on thedisplay through use of the mouse.”

U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,602 states in the Background section that “Animationin the prior art is implemented by displaying a series of fixed frames.Each frame depicts the icon image at some instant in time. These fixedframes are produced by either manually creating a plurality of fixedicon images in various stages of motion or by digitizing a number offrames from an analog clip of video. This latter process producesicon-like, or small window-sized, images generally known as “dicons”(dynamic icons) or “micons” (movie icons). Either process is typicallytime-consuming and generally requires expensive additional equipmentand/or software. Neither process is effective, nor suited, for depictingchanges in the content of the object to be dynamically represented bythe animated icon.” The is the only discussion regarding “video” in U.S.Pat. No. 5,479,602. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,602 teaches away fromgenerating a sequence of frames to produce an animated icon andaddresses icons that “depict changes in the content of the object to bedynamically represented by the animated icon.”

However, none of the prior art references specifically discloses the useof a video thumbnail used as an icon of a digital video file that isextracted from a preferred sequence of frames of the video file. Moreparticularly, none of the prior art references discloses that thesequence or series of preferred digital video frames are selected sothat they easily remind a user of the key aspect of the digital videofile.

Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide fora video thumbnail that for use as an icon of a digital video file thatcomprises a animated sequence of frames extracted from the video file,and that is extracted from a preferred sequence of frames of the videofile. It is also an objective of the present invention to provide for amethod of generating a video thumbnail of a digital video file.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To accomplish the above and other objectives, the present inventionprovides for a relatively short, low resolution, animated videothumbnail that is used as an icon of a digital video file. The videothumbnail is extracted from a preferred sequence of frames of the videofile and embedded as a header of the file. The video thumbnailpreferably plays automatically, and acts as a pointer to the file andthe preferred point within it.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various features and advantages of embodiments of the presentinvention may be more readily understood with reference to the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals designate like structuralelements, and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a video thumbnail inaccordance with the principles of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary method in accordance with the principlesof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to the sole drawing figures, FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplaryembodiment of a video thumbnail in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention. The video thumbnail comprises a relatively short, lowresolution, animated video thumbnail that is used as an icon of adigital video file.

An exemplary video thumbnail comprises a plurality (sequence or series)of preferred digital video frames of the digital video file. Thesequence or series of preferred digital video frames are selected toeasily remind a user of the key aspect of the digital video file.

A first aspect of the present invention is that the video thumbnailrepresentation of the video clip or file is animated. It shows a seriesof frames from the video file, preferably sampled at a low rate tominimize the storage requirements. The thumbnail plays automatically asappropriate for the application. For example, the thumbnail would playwhile scrolling through images on a digital camera. Pausing on thethumbnail causes it to replay continuously in a loop. On a multi-upscreen presentation on a camera or personal computer, the thumbnailplays the animation when it is highlighted or “moused-over”.

A second aspect of the present invention is that the thumbnailrepresents a significant or preferred segment of the video file, notjust the first segment. In the example mentioned in the Backgroundsection, it would be the touchdown pass rather than the huddle. Thepreferred segment may be identified by the user, such as by sampling afew seconds on either side of a shutter press. It is possible toautomatically identify a candidate segment, such as one with maximumactivity. A default segment may be composed of sampled frames of alonger segment or of the whole file, so the animation is a “fastforward” view of the segment or of the whole video file.

Other aspects of the video thumbnail borrow from a still imagethumbnail. It may be embedded in a header of the video file, so that itwould not have to be regenerated when it was played. It may also be usedseparately as a pointer to the file, and perhaps to the preferred pointwithin it. For example, a user could email the video thumbnail to afriend. When the friend clicked on the video thumbnail, it woulddownload the full video clip or file from a server or take him or her toa website containing the full clip.

While the video thumbnail concept has value in a camera user interface,it is much more powerful when also integrated “downstream” into hostsoftware applications, websites, and the like. The video thumbnail maybe a proprietary element of an integrated imaging “ecosystem” developedby the assignee of the present invention, or it may be the basis for abroader industry standard.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary method 30 in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention. The exemplary method 30 generates avideo thumbnail of a digital video file, and comprises the followingsteps. A relatively short, low resolution, animated series of digitalvideo frames is extracted 31 from a digital video file that isrepresentative of the digital video file. An icon is created 32comprising the extracted animated series of digital video frames toprovide a video thumbnail.

Thus, a video thumbnail for use as an icon of a digital video file andmethod of generating same have been disclosed. It is to be understoodthat the above-described embodiments are merely illustrative of some ofthe many specific embodiments that represent applications of theprinciples of the present invention. Clearly, numerous and otherarrangements can be readily devised by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention.

1. A video thumbnail comprising: a low resolution, animated series ofdigital video frames extracted from a segment of a digital video filethat comprises an icon that is representative of the digital video file.2. The video thumbnail recited in claim 1 wherein the series of framesis sampled at a low rate to minimize storage requirements.
 3. The videothumbnail recited in claim 1 which plays automatically when the icon isselected.
 4. The video thumbnail recited in claim 1 which playsautomatically when scrolling through images of a digital camera thatrecorded the digital video file.
 5. The video thumbnail recited in claim1 which plays automatically when scrolling through images of a videocamcorder that recorded the digital video file.
 6. The video thumbnailrecited in claim 1 which plays automatically when scrolling throughimages of a digital image capture device that recorded the digital videofile.
 7. The video thumbnail recited in claim 1 which playsautomatically when the icon is highlighted.
 8. The video thumbnailrecited in claim 1 which plays automatically when a mouse cursor is overthe icon.
 9. The video thumbnail recited in claim 1 wherein thethumbnail replays continuously while the icon is selected.
 10. The videothumbnail recited in claim 1 wherein the series of digital video framescomprises a preferred segment of the digital video file.
 11. The videothumbnail recited in claim 1 wherein the series of digital video framescomprises a relatively short time-lapse video thumbnail corresponding toa fast forward view of the entire digital video file.
 12. The videothumbnail recited in claim 10 wherein the preferred segment isidentified by a user by sampling a few seconds of the digital video fileon either side of a shutter press or other means of selection.
 13. Thevideo thumbnail recited in claim 1 is embedded in a header of thedigital video file.
 14. The video thumbnail recited in claim 1 whichcomprises a pointer to the digital video file.
 15. The video thumbnailrecited in claim 14 wherein the pointer identifies a file on a remotecomputer or server.
 16. The video thumbnail recited in claim 14 whereinthe pointer is a URL or web address.
 17. A method of generating a videothumbnail of a digital video file, comprising: extracting a lowresolution, animated series of digital video frames from a segment of adigital video file to form an icon that is representative of the digitalvideo file; and creating a video thumbnail comprising an animated seriesof the extracted digital video frames.
 18. The method recited in claim17 wherein the series of frames is sampled at a low rate to minimizestorage requirements.
 19. The method recited in claim 17 wherein theseries of frames plays automatically when the icon is selected.
 20. Themethod recited in claim 17 wherein the series of frames playsautomatically when scrolling through images of a digital camera thatrecorded the digital video file.
 21. The method recited in claim 17wherein the series of frames plays automatically when scrolling throughimages of a video camcorder that recorded the digital video file. 22.The method recited in claim 17 wherein the series of frames playsautomatically when scrolling through images of a digital image capturedevice that recorded the digital video file.
 23. The method recited inclaim 17 wherein the series of frames plays automatically when the iconis highlighted.
 24. The method recited in claim 17 wherein the thumbnailreplays continuously while the icon is selected.
 25. The method recitedin claim 17 wherein the thumbnail comprises a relatively shorttime-lapse video thumbnail of the entire digital video file compressedin time.
 26. The method recited in claim 18 wherein the series ofdigital video frames comprises a preferred segment of the digital videofile.
 27. The method recited in claim 26 wherein the preferred segmentis identified by a user by sampling a few seconds of the digital videofile on either side of a selection event.
 28. The method recited inclaim 17 wherein the thumbnail is embedded in a header of the digitalvideo file.
 29. The method recited in claim 17 wherein the thumbnailcomprises a pointer to the digital video file.
 30. The method recited inclaim 29 wherein the pointer identifies a file on a remote computer orserver.
 31. The method recited in claim 29 wherein the pointer is a URLor web address.